Remembering Phillpotts

Four great-grandchildren of the ‘Old Chief’, Head Master James Surtees Phillpotts (staff 1875-1903) visited the school in July to understand the impact their visionary great-grandfather had on the school.

Phillpotts was the son of an Archdeacon of Cornwall and the grandson of Bishop Henry of Exeter, and was educated at Winchester College, and then at New College, Oxford. Before coming to Bedford, he was a master at Rugby for twelve years.   At the age of 34 years, in October 1874, he was appointed Head Master of Bedford Grammar School (as it was then called) by the Governors of the Harpur Trust.

Within a few months of his arrival in Bedford, a brewery, with a house, adjoining the School in St. Paul’s Square, had been purchased for the provision of classrooms, the disappearance of the dividing wall ending the ball game that was then played by the boys, and doubling the size of the playground. His belief in technical instruction was practically expressed early in the following year, when some parts of the brewer’s house were adapted for a carpenter’s shop. The success of this innovation prepared the way for the engineer’s shop, and not only his own school, but the elementary schools of the town enjoyed the advantages of this pioneer work in the education of the hand and eye.

Phillpotts used his experience gained at Rugby to extend the academic side of the school, the development of games, especially team games, and built the material side that was seen in the new school in 1891, more of which later.  He strived for leadership, good manners, and upright citizens who were well prepared for the challenge of the rapidly changing world, so not much change from today!

Phillpotts focussed on three strategic imperatives, the first of which was material. He introduced a science room, a chemical laboratory, fives courts, the enlargement of the assembly hall, new classrooms, the levelling of the cricket fields, and a workshop and forge.

The second, was intellectual – encouraging the use of the library, the creation of the natural history and science departments, as well as a host of societies, including the debating society.  He also oversaw the revival of school theatricals and introduced the assault-at-arms, first held in April 1891.

The last was moral – the great care of everyone who came to the school. Phillpotts apparently knew the name of everyone in the school. He spoke of the importance of having great masters who made the school grow. There was also the self-government of the school led by nineteen Monitors, as there were nineteen classrooms in the school. Phillpotts felt there should be empathy between parents, masters and boys.

In 1884, Phillpotts introduced the Volunteer Corps for boys over seventeen years of age and of a certain height (not specified). Many future generations of volunteers would go on to serve their country in the armed conflicts of the twenty first century.

1891 saw the crowning glory of his Head Mastership, with the official opening of the new school at its current site. The total cost of the scheme was £29,700.  A ceremonial procession from the old premises (now the tourist information centre) to the new, stretched for over a mile with the boys, masters and a band leading the way up the High Street. The roll of pupils was then around 600 and, by 1903, when Phillpotts retired, it had risen to nearly 900, developing Bedford from an obscure provincial institution to one of England’s leading public schools.  Only Eton, Marlborough and Cheltenham were larger at the time.  

A characteristic instance of the way Phillpotts triumphed over difficulties is provided by the acquisition of the playing field on which the new School buildings stand. It was first rented in 1867, and was held on lease until 1881, when there was an opportunity to purchase it. At first, the Governors were unable to entertain the idea. But the opportunity was not one to be lost. Phillpotts financially secured the field himself and, in the following year, the Governors took it over.

On his retirement, in April 1903, his wonderful popularity was shown by the gifts presented to him by the staff, boys, Old Boys, and others, including a silver tray. He left to his successor a flourishing Public School of 900 boys, with magnificent and admirably equipped buildings and an excellent staff, and his Old Boys were winning successes in every walk of life and in every part of the world.

After retiring, Phillpotts moved to Tonbridge Wells, naming his house ‘The Ousels’, where he welcomed many Old Bedfordians. 

In 1930, Old Bedfordians raised funds to build a set of gates at the end of Burnaby Road to commemorate Phillpotts’ service to the school.  It had been hoped that they would be opened during his lifetime.  However, he sadly died two days before the ceremony. The gates themselves were designed by Oswald Milne (OB) and officially opened by Sir Reginald Ward Poole, using a specially made key received on behalf of the Governors of the Harpur Trust by their Chairman, Sir Maurice Craig.  

The legacy and influence of Phillpotts lives on today and is threaded through the day-to-day life of the school.   Whether it’s in the classroom, the playing field, or the theatre, his ethos and vision remain, despite an ever-changing world.